The planned Budapest summit between U.S. President Trump and Russian President Putin has come under uncertainty. According to sources speaking to CNN, preparatory meetings scheduled between Secretary Marco Rubio and Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov this week have been temporarily suspended.

One source indicated that differences over approaches to ending the Russia-Ukraine war have created friction, reducing the likelihood that Rubio would recommend the summit take place next week. Despite this, the two officials may conduct additional phone consultations later this week to try to resolve outstanding issues.

Trump-Putin Talks Expected to Address Ukraine Crisis

On October 16, President Trump held a 2.5-hour phone call with President Putin, discussing a range of issues related to the ongoing Ukraine conflict. Following this call, Trump confirmed that a meeting involving U.S. and Russian senior advisers, including Rubio, would precede the face-to-face summit in Budapest.

Trump has also suggested that the Budapest meeting could take place within two weeks, contingent on the resolution of outstanding disagreements in preparatory discussions.